Fitness, The Bible, And the Temple of the Holy Spirit

In the first Fit For Jesus article, I mentioned the following scripture:

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body."

1 Corinthians 6: 19-20

This is only the beginning, but what a clear beginning it is! Our body is the literal, physical temple of the Holy Spirit. By taking care of our bodies, we are taking care of our wonderful Holy Spirit's temple. Our body is a gift from the Lord, and we should all, in a simple act of thankfulness and love, take care of our body and the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Are we required to? Technically, no. Salvation through Jesus Christ is a gift of God's grace. Our salvation does not depend on our actions, but don't you want to give something back to our gracious Heavenly Father, who gave His Son for us?

(In the coming weeks, we will get into a lot of detail about how, while our actions here on earth have NOTHING to do with "deserving" salvation, our actions here on earth - including your levels of health and fitness - potentially have MUCH to do with our reward in heaven!)

Here is more scripture:

Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."The Jews replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" But the temple he had spoken of was his body.

John 2: 19-21

Jesus states that His body is a temple. I know when I first came across this scripture, my gut response was, "Yeah, but that is Jesus. I can't compare myself to Him and call my body a temple!"

It almost seems uncomfortable to compare ourselves to Jesus, doesn't it? Yet, in the Bible, it clearly states that we are "made new in Christ", and through the Holy Spirit "conformed to the likeness of His Son." Yes, we are conformed into the likeness of His character and His righteousness and holiness, but Jesus was also very human.

Jesus was exceptionally clear: His human body was a temple!
In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Ephesians 2:21-22

This really seals the point, doesn't it? We are, both individually and collectively, becoming a "dwelling in which GOD lives by His Spirit!".

I think we can all agree that the Bible is conclusive: our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, a tremendous amount of resources, including time, talent, attention, and money were devoted to the building of God's temple. The temple of the Holy Spirit - our body - should be no different!

Pray today for the Lord's strength to help you build a temple worthy of the Holy Spirit. Ask for strength to choose the right foods, the desire to plan your meals, the shift in priorities to create time to exercise. Start with the clear scripture, and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you in more detail about His desire for you!

With 14 years of experience in the fitness industry, Jeremy Nelms is the creator of Fit For Jesus! FitForJesus.com brings together people from around the world to support each other, lose weight and get in great shape at http://www.FitForJesus.com With a rapidly growing Christian social network, you can receive nutrition tips, exercise techniques, recipes, and massive amounts of support. Learn more about making your health and fitness efforts reap eternal rewards at Fit For Jesus today!

Fitness, The Bible, And the Temple of the Holy Spirit

As a Christian, prayer and the study of God's Word are two of the most important elements in our lives. It is with these thoughts that I would like to share a few practical principles to be mindful of when studying the scriptures.

What kind of tree provided wood for the cross on which Jesus was crucified? The answer to this question and more can be found at the Monastery of the Holy Cross, located in the Valley of Cross in Jerusalem, Israel.

The Holy Bible was written by forty different individuals. It is said that each of these individuals wrote the information that we see today under the full inspiration of what many refer to as the "Holy Spirit". The individual that is considered to be the highest contributor to the Books of the Bible was Moses.

Trichy, short for Tiruchirapally is an important town situated on the banks of river Cauvery in the state of Tamil Nadu. This ancient town flourished under the reign of the Cholas, the Pallavas and the Pandyas.

Thrissur is a small city situated in the state of Kerala, which is considered to be one of the first cities of Kerala. The name Thrissur finds its origins in ‘Tiru Shiva Peru’ which translates into ‘The big town of Lord Shiva’.

Thrissur is really a little town located in their state associated with Kerala, that is regarded as among the very first metropolitan areas associated with Kerala. The actual title Thrissur discovers it's roots within ‘Tiru Shiva Peru’ that means ‘The large city associated with Head of the family Shiva’.

Your walk with God, here on earth, does not need to be a walk in the desert. You have living water installed in you and that is why you do not have to thirst anymore. When you experience that life with God becomes hard, you can receive new strength from the source of the living water inside of you.

The Holy Spirit has been mentioned in the Quran several times and many questions have been raised about the identity of the Holy Spirit in the Quran. Many of the questions come from our Christian brothers and sisters who wonder if the Holy Spirit in the Quran is the third of their Trinity beliefs.